Well, somewhere around fourteen weeks and a thousand pictures the youth football season for 2008 is finally over. This season was - without a doubt - Alex’s best season ever. He managed to make great strides on both sides of the ball, and seems to have settled in well on both the offensive and defensive line positions he has been playing.

The cynical side of me notes that if Alex had…..ummm, maybe been given the opportunity to PLAY MORE as opposed to sitting on the bench the last several years he probably would have matured at the game quite a lot sooner.

It’s all water under the bridge now, but it does grind my gears a bit. Somewhat frustrating when your son sits on the bench while his team limps to a one win season.

<sigh>

On a more positive note, I’ve attached a few slideshows from this year’s pictures for your enjoyment.

2008 Manchester B-Team: Alex Schmidt from Jason Schmidt on Vimeo.

2008 Manchester B-Team Slideshow One from Jay Schmidt on Vimeo.

2008 Manchester B-Team Slideshow Two from Jay Schmidt on Vimeo.

I had a song come up on iTunes shuffle today at work that took me back to the time when I used to travel for work. A time that I am very glad is in the past.

Now, I’ve worked with and known many people who love traveling; they love going on the road - flying to another city or country, eating out, staying in a hotel, going out to eat every night.

I absolutely hated it.

More than that I hated all the people that would tell me that the travel wasn’t all that bad; or that I should just get used to it; or that somehow the money you made traveling made up for all the things that you missed. I hated the lectures about how it was such a great thing for your career - that somehow telling your son that you were the youngest person promoted to “Lord of All Databases” or that you were widely quoted in IT publications would make up for you being 2,000 miles away when he needed you.

Alex was little when I started traveling; Malinda and Steven were living at home. When I finally switched jobs, both the older kids were out of the house and Alex was no longer little. I can’t help but feel that I missed out on something.

Although the level of irritation waxed and waned throughout the years I was spending quality time on airplanes and in airports, one thing was definitely sure. I was an ass more times than I wasn’t due to the stress and anxiety that I carried around. There were many times when I’m sure that my family didn’t want to be around me; many times when I would be wondering why I was being such a jerk while I was in the process of being one.

The worst part of travel - what the late Douglas Adams would probably refer to as a variant of the Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul - always seemed to be after I would see families out and having fun in San Diego, or Reno, or London. That’s when I missed being home the most, when I wanted to be able to just sit in the same room with my kids, put my son to bed, or just go and walk the dog.

The song I heard today always seemed to come up when I was driving out to dinner when I was on the west coast, and it always reminded me of my wife. It always reminded me of our family, reminded me of us - with the exception that I don’t need much reflection to know I love her.

If you’re reading this…..well, happy birthday, baby. I love you.

Ghost Story
From A Brand New Day
By Sting

I watch the western sky
The sun is sinking
The geese are flying south
It sets me thinking

I did not miss you much
I did not suffer
What did not kill me
Just made me tougher

I feel the winter come
His icy sinews,
Now in the firelight
The case continues

Another night in court
The same old trial
The same old questions asked
The same denial

The shadows close me round
Like jury members
I look for answers in
The fire’s embers

Why was I missing then
That whole December?
I give my usual line,
I don’t remember

Another winter comes
His icy fingers creep
Into these bones of mine
These memories never sleep
And all these differences
A cloak I borrowed
We kept our distances
Why should it follow that
I must have loved you?

What is the force that binds the stars?
I wore this mask to hide my scars
What is the power that pulls the tide?
Never could find a place to hide

What moves the earth around the sun?
What could I do but run and run and run?
Afraid to love, afraid to fail
A mast without a sail

The moon’s a fingernail
And slowly sinking
Another day begins
And now I’m thinking

That this indifference
Was my invention
When everything I did
Sought your attention

You were my compass star
You were my measure
You were a pirate’s map
Of buried treasure

If this was all correct
The last thing I’d expect
The prosecution rests
It’s time that I confessed
I must have loved you
I must have loved you

The Manchester Youth Program is now part of the Buckeye Football Conference. Nobody is really sure why they did this (although there is some speculation that the fact that the program was always near the bottom of the Suburban Youth League in wins was a contributing factor), but I’m not privy to the information on that one. The official reason given is that the BFC is “just a better fit for our community and our players”. Of course, if you go by the glowing reviews of the people associated with the program you’re left with the feeling that the BFC is just one step away from curing cancer and discovering free energy…..which they’ll have to finish up after the football season.

In this league, the 5th and 6th graders are grouped on to what they call “B Division”. If Alex plays in this organization next year (the middle school is an alternative option), he will be in “A Division”. The 3rd and 4th graders play in “C Division”.

Big difference between the leagues is that there is no weight limit in the BFC. So Alex may find himself lined up across from a 180lb Defensive End. But wait, they say! Anyone over 120lbs isn’t allowed to play in the backfield. So I guess that the upside of this is that when our kids get flattened the person flattening them will have a stripe on his helmet and will most likely not be holding on to a football when he does it.

The other difference is that there will be two games on Saturdays - there will be a Varsity game first, and a Junior Varsity game second. I have no idea where Alex will be playing, but given the fact that these are the same coaches who grudgingly put him in for a play here and a play there two years back, I would guess JV. There is also a possibility that Alex will play in both games - there are rules that limit the playing time in this league; for example, if you play a skill position in the Varsity game you cannot play a skill position in the JV game. They are all supposed to play for at least 3 quarters, but that can be spread between both games. At this point I’m mildly optimistic, but still skeptical. Rules are great on paper, but following them is a whole different matter.

Sorry for the cynicism, but it’s hard to not think that we’re going to simply see a continuation of the problems we have experienced over the last five years again this year. The one plus I see is that Alex is virtually guaranteed to get more playing time than he ever has before; in fact, I would wager that he tops his 2006 playing time in the first half of the first game.

That being said, Alex would love for you to come down and see him play. We have 6 home games and 2 away games this year; home games are at Lockhart field off Nimisila. Away games are as marked.

As always, please let me know if you need directions or if you have questions.

All games begin at noon, unless otherwise noted.

• 23-Aug-2008 Green Black (Scrimmage / 11:30 AM Start)
• 30-Aug-2008 Tallmadge White
• 06-Sep-2008 Northwest Gray
• 13-Sep-2008 Ellet Orange
• 20-Sep-2008 @Springfield Red
• 27-Sep-2008 @Ellet Black
• 04-Oct-2008 Green Black
• 11-Oct-2008 Tallmadge Gold

Early in May, Beth managed to get me all fired up about this editorial (Evolution and it’s Critics) in the Akron Beacon Journal. I think she did it knowing that at some point in time I’d get pissed off and write a letter back to the editor about it. Which, of course, is exactly what happened. Sometimes it’s tough being so predictable.

Fortunately, my letter didn’t get published. I say “fortunately” not because I didn’t want to get it published, I’m as narcissistic as the next guy and don’t mind seeing my name in print. Fortunately because there were a number of other writers who wrote in to castigate both the content of the editorial and the author himself. I’m not talking about an Ad Hominem here, folks, I’m talking about the fact that this particular person has a long history of trying to promote his rather fundamentalist Christian ideas regarding creation in the public schools.

Initially I thought that the bit about “MovieGuide.com” in the original editorial was an honest mistake - however, after reading some of the other editorial in response and researching this individual’s letter writing history I’m more inclined to believe it was an intentional deception meant to appeal to the authority of moiveguide.com to validate Expelled.

One other advantage to not being published is, of course, getting to put it up here. I’m sure they’ll be a point in the future where my ranting will be splashed across the pages of the Beacon Journal, there to be read by dozens if not scores. But until then….

I’d like to respond to the editorial entitled “Evolution and its Critics” by Mr. Robert Lattimer in the 1-May-2008 Beacon Journal.

In direct contrast to what is stated in the editorial, MovieGuide.com does not give Expelled 4 stars - in fact, MovieGuide.com redirects to Hollywood.com. As you would expect, this is a site that is concerned with movie reviews and other Hollywood news. However, a search of the site show no reference to the Expelled movie at this time.

On the other hand, MovieGuide.org does have a review of Expelled. Since the quotes in the editorial match the review on MovieGuide.org I have to assume that this is the site that the author meant instead of MovieGuide.com. A quick visit to MovieGuide.org should be enough to convince any reasonable person that it is not a neutral party; in fact, a statement on the website proclaims that “Movieguide is a ministry dedicated to redeeming the values of the mass media according to biblical principles, by influencing entertainment industry executives and helping families make wise media choices.”

In direct contrast to the author’s statements, unfavorable and unflattering reviews seem to be the norm for Expelled. Reviewers seem to feel that there is an undercurrent of dishonesty in the movie, including quote mining, selective editing, and questionable interview tactics. The website ExpelledExposed.com - a website created by the National Center for Science Education to provide information on the claims made in the movie - provides an extensive list of these reviews.

The author states that “objectivity requires that researchers follow the evidence wherever it leads”; I respectfully suggest that he follow that advice and explore the origins of this film, which is little more than a propaganda piece.

Every year on or around Memorial Day, a friend from an old mailling list sends out an email that talks about the holiday….a little essay that provides some perspective on what Memorial Day represents. I liked it so much I posted it last year; when I had a home office I had a copy of it hanging on my corkboard. It’s probably still there, underneath pictures of Alex and the detritus of my former life as a consultant.

Yesterday morning, on Memorial Day, Alex and I walked down to the parade at the end of the street - Beth was sleeping in since Alex wasn’t in the parade this year - and while we were walking we talked about Memorial Day. I was curious to get the 11 year old perspective on the holiday. Alex surprised me a little; I had thought I would get an answer heavy on “day off from school” and light on everything else. What I got instead was a brief few sentences about a day for “soldiers and sailors” followed by an anxious look, his unspoken way of asking “well, am I right?”.

I told him that he was right, and we talked a little about the tragedy and inhumanity of war. We talked about the awesome responsiblity of sending men and women into harm’s way, and how it should only be as a last resort.

Most importantly we talked about the personal loss caused by a war; the lost mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends. And we talked about the danger of it becoming too abstract, too removed from our comforable lives.

Alex asked a few questions, thought for a bit, then he squeezed my hand and we walked down to the parade and immersed ourselves in securing the candy thrown off the floats. That seemed right; it’s important to remember, but it’s equally important to live. Anything less would be disrespectful of the sacrifices made.

Recently, I read a piece written by the famous war correspondent Ernie Pyle; these words were found on his body after he was killed by sniper fire on the island of Ie Shima during the Okinawa campaign in April of 1945. In these, probably the last words he ever wrote, Ernie Pyle sums up a part of Memorial Day we all should think about. A part that most of us - thankfully - never have to experience, but a part that many Americans have to experience on our behalf.

But there are many of the living who have had burned into their brains forever the unnatural sight of cold dead men scattered over the hillsides and in the ditches along the high rows of hedge throughout the world.

Dead men by mass production . in one country after another . month after month and year after year. Dead men in winter and dead men in summer.

Dead men in such familiar promiscuity that they become monotonous.

Dead men in such monstrous infinity that you come almost to hate them.

These are the things that you at home need not even try to understand. To you at home they are columns of figures, or he is a near one who went away and just didn’t come back. You didn’t see him lying so grotesque and pasty beside the gravel road in France.

We saw him, saw him by the multiple thousands. That’s the difference…